RetroTink 5x Pro System Spotlight: Sega Master System via RGB SCART

In this episode, it is a RetroTink 5x System Spotlight featuring Sega Master System with RGB SCART using Insurrection Industries SCART cables.

Chapters:
00:00 - 0:34 -Introduction
0:35 - 3:01 - Firmware Settings
3:02 - 4:42 - Double Dragon
4:43 - 6:30 - Disney's Aladdin
6:31 - 9:12 - Rampage
9:13 - 10:38 - R-Type
10:39 - 11:31 - Wonder Boy
11:32 - 15:59 - Conclusions

Sega always seems to get referenced when it comes to underrated video game systems. The Saturn. The Dreamcast. But I think their history of underrated systems goes back to the very beginning in the USA with the Sega Master System. Bolstering Superior graphics and sound to it's main competitor at the time from Nintendo, the Sega Master System is one of my favorite systems that I've begun collecting for. And when it came time to test it out with the excellent RetroTink 5X from Mike Chi I was even more excited.

With everything going on lately, I really hadn't had much time to spend with the Master System on the RetroTink 5X. Boy, have I been missing out! The first thing I noticed, and this is due to upgraded firmware since launch from Mike, is that the jail bars were practically non-existent when a high setting was selected for the low pass filter. I was truly amazed, I thought these were the type of results I could only see with some sort of chip installed into the system or other mod. Double Dragon is a great example of a game that has a lot of jail bars, and they were virtually eliminated.

Disney's Aladdin for the Sega Master System looks a heck of a lot better than it has any right to be, and that's before going through the RetroTink 5X. It has some of the best artwork of any game of this time, be it an 8-bit or 16-bit platform. While details such as faces and such were more generic than in the 16-bit counterparts, the audio, characters, and background look amazing. I mean you practically have parallax scrolling going on in the background! And again the RetroTink 5X made it all look super clean and sharp.

What has not been said about the Rampage series of games? This quarter muncher from the arcades had an okay version for the NES, but the Master System version is vastly superior. First and foremost, you get all three characters! What a thought! You also have an amazing theme lifted from Revenge of the Nerds, when I personal favorite movies of all time. Finally, you get a game that plays tight, looks great, and is just stupid fun. I mean who doesn't want to destroy cities is a big ugly monster?

R-type is one of the finest shooters of all time, and the version for the Master System looks and sounds, again, better than it deserves to be. I dare say it challenges the TurboGrafx16 version for how great it actually looks and plays. Much like double dragon, our type is also much more difficult on the Master System than on the NES, so that is something for you to be aware of.

I know that Alex Kidd was the defacto mascot for early Master System software and hardware, but for me Wonderboy's a much better game. I prefer the overall layout, the speed, the platforming, I just enjoy it a heck of a lot. And while we know about the connection between Wonderboy and Adventure Island, I dare say that Wonder Boy plays a little bit better, sounds just a little bit better, and is overall a little bit better game than Adventure Island.

I was absolutely blown away at how great my Master System looked going through the RetroTink 5x. I mentioned it before and I will mention it again, it doesn't deserve to look this good but it absolutely looks stunning. I may still look into doing some sort of jail bar mod for the Master System, but right now I don't feel the need like I did in years past. Some of Mike's previous releases did not play as nicely with Sega systems as fans would have liked, but he has thoroughly addressed those concerns with this release. Job well done, and I am excited to play more.

#RetroTink5x #Sega #Upscaler #HDMISega

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